


Waiting In The Sky

by midnightradio



Category: The Martian (2015), The Martian - All Media Types, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: Angst, Explicit Language, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-25 06:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4949581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightradio/pseuds/midnightradio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark is back on the Hermes but getting rescued isn't quite as easy as it seemed. Fighting for your life is easy, but living with what you had to do to survive is harder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We're Back

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short starter chapter of how the rest of the crew reacts to Watney being back "home" with them.

After about two minutes of reunion excitement, Watney collapsed. Which terrified everyone who was standing around, their smiles slowly slipping to concern while Beck strengthened his hold on Mark’s suit to keep him upright. 

“This is normal.” Beck said, doing as much to convince himself as the crew. “It’s okay, he’s in a lot of pain, he’s malnourished and he just went faster than any man should through space. He’ll be fine.” 

Still, he was glad they were able to get a reading of Mark’s bio-monitor data while he was inside the suit so he could know without a doubt that his heart was still beating normally. 

 

***

Once Beck floated the two of them into his room, the only “sick bay” the ship had, he set to work on getting out of his own suit, and then slowly getting Mark out of his as well. It was shocking to see the transformation that had taken place over Mark’s body. He was aware from a medical standpoint that there would be weight loss with the reduced diet he was on, and sores from malnutrition, even the bruises were understandable given the fact he probably broke multiple ribs and did God knows what else to his internal organs in his departure from Mars, but none of that logic meant that Chris was prepared for what he saw when he got Mark’s clothes off. 

His friend was in worse shape than he thought, so thin and so black and blue, it almost looked they they were too late to save him, with him lying there so still. Mark woke up halfway through Beck’s inspection and realized immediately that there was something off about his expression. 

 “What? Is it more than a broken rib?” He asked, just a touch of fear audible in his voice. 

 “No, no, it’s just…the smell.” Beck answered back, covering up the despair with a smirk. “You ever heard of a shower, Watney?” 

 “Damn, I knew I forgot something when I was renovating the rover. When I get back to NASA I’m going to have some serious remodeling ideas to discuss with them.” Mark smiled relieved by the news that he wasn’t more badly injured and probably by the thought that he would make it to back to Earth at all. His smile quickly turned back into a wince the more Chris prodded at him though. 

 “Sorry…feels like two broken ribs. I’ll have to tape them up and take some x-rays, but I’ll get you some pain meds first.” 

 Chris was gone for maybe a minute or two to get medicine for Mark but when he got back it was clear to see that the man was suffering a lot more than he was letting show. His body had started to shake and his eyebrows were furrowed like he was trying hard to keep any emotion from escaping. 

 “Just another minute, Watney. This will help you feel better and probably put you to sleep for a while too.” 

 Beck did his best to prop Mark up slowly to help him swallow down some pills and as much water as he thought Mark’s stomach could handle at the moment but the other man still tensed up in pain, his jaw clenching with the force of keeping his screams at bay. Once he got the medicine down, Chris would have been happy to just let him lie back and sleep until it was bearable again but Watney had other ideas. 

 “Will you still think of me as a hero if I ask you to help me shower right now?” Mark asked, while Chris started cleaning up. 

 “I never thought of you as a hero,” Chris shot back at him with a smile. “So that shouldn’t be a problem. But you really don’t have to do that, the smell isn’t that bad, we can wait until you’re not in as much pain.” 

 Mark frowned, “As wonderful as that moment sounds, that probably won’t happen for a while and I’d rather not be covered in…Mars anymore.” 

 By the end of his sentence it sounded like Mark had half a mind to start pleading next, something that Chris put the blame on the pain killers for. Still, he agreed to Mark’s foolish idea and started to help him up and off of the bed. 

 “Hey, Beck, just promise you won’t fall in love with me once you see me naked.” Watney joked, his normal smug attitude back in his voice. 

 “I will do my very best to resist.” Chris deadpanned back. 

 

***

 

Once Watney was showered, hair cleaned, teeth brushed, freshly clothed, and finished with x-rays/testing, he was about ready to collapse again and was much more eager to get into bed than he was before. The whole bathing experience was less agonizing than either of them thought. Mark was almost back to his usual self, cracking jokes to compensate for the embarrassment he felt and to distract Chris from how awful he looked. It didn’t work one hundred percent on either count but it still comforted them both for things to almost feel normal again. Or at least as normal as it could get when you’re bathing your friend who you thought you might never see again. 

 Mark assumed that as soon as Chris got him comfortably into bed that he would leave to do whatever he was meant to be doing, helping examine the ship or fix what had been damaged, but to his surprise Chris just pulled up a chair and sat by his side. 

 “Don’t you have a job to be doing?” Mark asked, his eyes already drooping. 

 “I’m doing it, just go to sleep.” 

 “I’m not sure I can with you sitting there. You going to stay there all night?” 

 Beck could have been imagining it but he could have sworn Mark was almost comforted by the thought of him being there all night long. 

 “Well this is my room after all, I don’t have anywhere else to be.” 

 Apparently this answer was enough to calm whatever final worries Mark had because as soon as he got the reply he let himself drift off to sleep. 

 

***

 

The first person to show up was Martinez about twenty minutes after Mark fell into a deep sleep. He peeked his head in first but couldn’t get a good look at Mark with Beck sitting in the way. 

 "Man, I thought maybe Watney wasn't in here anymore, what with the smell being gone." He joked, taking the last step down into the room. 

 Beck turned to give him a tired smile, even he was starting to feel drained by the day's activities. "He's asleep, probably will be for the next hour or so." 

 Martinez nodded as he came to stand by Beck's shoulder, his face resting in a more subdued expression than the joking one he wore moments ago. "He's pretty thin, huh?" 

 They may not have known everything about each other but Beck thought he knew enough about the crew by now to be able to spot the real question underneath Martinez query. "He'll make it. The meal plan NASA had him on was stretched pretty thin, but they knew what they were doing and they sent us more than enough to get him back to...to get him healthy again." 

 He was going to say 'to get him back to normal' again, but who really knew what normal would be after something like this. 

 Satisfied with Chris' answers, Martinez left a few minutes later, smiling again as he went, all too thrilled to have his best friend back on the ship. 

 

*** 

 

Vogel was the next to arrive, he was much quieter in his arrival making Chris think that Martinez had gone out to share his experience with everyone. The chemist didn't stay for very long though, just stared down at Mark's sleeping form for a while, an expression of near wonderment on his face before patting Mark softly on the shoulder and climbing out again. 

 Just before he walked away Chris could swear he heard " _Mein Gott_ , I can't believe it worked," fall from Vogel's lips. He wasn't sure what exactly Vogel was referring to but he had to agree that the fact that all of them were left standing after everything that happened today was amazing. Even if they left out the fact that they rescued the first person to be stranded on Mars alone. He tried not to let himself think too long about that  though, or the reasons that lead Mark to being left in the first place. 

 

***

 

Before Beth arrived for her visit, Mark woke up again. Chris could tell when Mark was slowly becoming more aware and did everything in his power to make sure that he didn’t wake up scared. Whispering words of encouragement to him and letting him know he was still on the Hermes and that everything was okay. It was clear when he woke up that he had no intention of staying awake for long so Chris was quick to get him to eat a bit of the mashed up protein bar mixed with water. It probably wasn’t the most appetizing meal, given the glare Watney wore nearly the entire time he ate it, but once Chris mixed in his next pain pill, he stopped complaining. This time when Watney fell asleep it was with the name “Dr. Bossy Beck” spilling from his lips. 

 The ‘bossy’ doctor himself was starting to doze when Beth put her hand on his shoulder. She spoke quietly, carefully preserving the sleepy atmosphere. “Why don’t you go get some dinner? I can stay here for a little while.” 

 “I’d rather stay, at least today, in case anything goes wrong.” He responded, gently for now but he was willing to put more fight into it if they really demanded that he leave. He just couldn’t do that again, not now that he finally had a chance to make up for what he’d done. 

 Beth smiled somewhat ruefully like she anticipated this answer. “I thought you might say that, so I brought you a snack.” 

 Beck jumped slightly when she tossed the packaged nuts his way, but was still able to catch it in enough time. He gave her a quiet thanks before tearing into the snack, letting it refill some of the energy he was lacking moments before. 

 “How’s the ship?” He asked, his mouth still slightly full, before another more pressing thought came to mind. “Oh God, what about everyone at NASA?” 

 “Well, the ship is fine. The inner VAL door is gone but the outer one seems to be holding—as for everyone back home…” Beth trailed off, still with a smile on her lips, although this time it seemed more proud. “Let’s just say it’s a good thing we still have plenty of travel time for things to cool off. When we get back all anyone is going to be interested in talking about is Watney anyway.” 

 They both turned to look at the sleeping man after that. Unlike his rest before, this time he seemed unsettled, even in sleep, his hands clenching and unclenching, his eyes moving around behind his eyelids and his body spasming occasionally. Beck felt terrible for whatever horrible scenario that was playing out in Mark’s mind right now and wished there was something better he could do to help. 

 “I’m going to get some sleep, Commander Lewis wanted me to let you know she’s awake if you need anything.” Beth said, giving Beck’s shoulder one last squeeze. “You should try to sleep too.” 

 Chris nodded but didn’t even turn to watch Beth leave, his focus now completely on Mark as he grew more and more restless in his sleep. As long as Mark was here and in pain, that was his only priority and right now he needed to figure out how to give his friend a better night’s rest. 

 

*** 

 

In the end it was actually a simple solution. Whatever horror was happening in Mark’s head could be helped by simply reminding him he was no longer stuck down on Mars, alone, but rather still up here in space with all of them. It happened at first by accident, Mark’s hand spasming upwards towards some unseen danger, and Chris, wanting to stop him from hurting himself further grabbed onto it and held it closer to the bed. 

 The instant Chris grabbed Mark’s hand the reaction was obvious, his body relaxed and his expression cleared, Chris cursed himself for not realizing earlier that this would help. Now that the secret to a good night’s sleep had been discovered, Chris made sure to hold on tightly to Mark’s hand. 

Chris himself dozed off now and again but whenever Mark would tense or murmur in his sleep, he was up in an instant, running his free hand up and down Mark’s arm or whispering a gentle, “I’m here, Mark, everything is alright.” 

 That’s how Commander Lewis found them when she finally made it to see Mark, almost a full 24 hours after they’d gotten him back on the Hermes. With the ship to check over and NASA wanting a full report of what happened, she hadn’t had time to get away sooner. 

 She didn’t have the same cheerful or wondering attitude the others had but rather entered the room and got down to business. “Dr. Beck take a break, get something to eat and clean up, I can watch over Watney while you're gone.” 

 Beck sat up straighter when she spoke but did nothing to pull his hand away from Mark’s. If the Commander did notice it, she didn’t say anything about it. “I’m fine. I’d really rather stay here until I know Watney is okay.” 

 “Chris, I’m not asking.” She said, using a softer tone but still making it clear she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Clean up. That’s an order.” 

 Reluctantly, Beck did as she said, sighing as he pulled his hand away and stood up, his joints popping slightly after sitting in the same position for so long. He tried to avoid looking at Commander Lewis’ smug face when he stretched back. 

 “They are asking for a picture,” Lewis said right before Beck left the room. “One of all of us, for the press, and for their files.” 

 Turning to look back at Mark, looking so small in that bed, Beck tried to negotiate with her, “Maybe we wait a week for that. I’ll send them my reports from his check up, and the blood work results, that should help right?” 

 Neither of them had to respond to know that probably wouldn’t work, whenever NASA wanted something, they could be quite pushy until they got it. Beck thought for a moment longer before speaking again. 

 “He can’t even sit up right now, two broken ribs need time to heal before we jostle him to get the right camera angle, I say we wait.” 

 Commander Lewis smiled as Beck started to get himself more riled up over Watney’s wellbeing, but she nodded. “It’s your call Doctor. Now get out of here before I push you out.” 

 

*** 

 

Chris hated to admit it but he really did feel better after getting a meal in his system and taking a shower. But he was anxious to get back to Watney when he realized he would probably be waking up soon and needed to eat a little more before having more medicine. Instead of trying to feed him a lot all at once, Beck was given scheduled meals for Watney to eat to work him back up to bigger portions and get his weight back to normal again, too much all at once would only make him sick and do much more harm than good. 

 After grabbing what he needed from the kitchen, Chris floated through to his own room, he’d be able to put together Watney’s meal in there. Maybe if he crushed up the pain pill in his food again he’d be able to get Watney to eat the full portion again. You’d think a guy who had nothing to eat but potatoes for the last year would complain less about the food he was getting now. 

 Halfway down the ladder, Chris heard Commander Lewis talking and stopped where he was. He planned on going back up the ladder and coming back later but couldn’t help himself when he heard Watney reply. 

 “The way I see it, we are even. You came back for me, I’m not holding any grudges.” 

Even though Watney was quick to say he didn’t blame the crew, Beck knew he wouldn’t be so lucky if he brought up the subject with Mark. Commander Lewis may have given the go ahead to launch the MAV but she was acting on Beck’s assurance that their crew mate was dead. If Beck had given her more hope of Watney’s survival or hadn’t been so quick to declare him dead they may have searched for him longer or found a way to prop up the MAV instead of just leaving. 

 No, there was no way Watney would forgive him if he knew that Beck was the one who swayed Commander Lewis’ mind. 

 That’s why Beck couldn’t call Watney a hero, because if Watney was the hero, that made Beck the villain. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pro-tip: If you feel like you don't have Watney's voice down perfectly yet, just make sure he's unconscious for most of your fic! (He'll be awake and active again in the next ones!)
> 
> I have a lot of ideas for this fic, some less angsty, some more so. Just a bunch of one-shots from their mission, before they arrive on Mars, after they thought Mark was dead, and mostly after they rescue Mark. Please let me know if anything doesn't make sense or if I mixed up facts, mistakes are always made and I'm willing to fix anything I missed. Please comment or share your thoughts. Here or on tumblr. Find me at aw-space
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. The New Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at the following week after Mark's rescue and the continued problems that arise after surviving the unimaginable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Caution: One of the characters experiences a panic attack towards the end, be careful if those are rough for you to read.)

The following week after Watney’s rescue, Chris and Mark got used to each other’s company in ways that they never had to before. The rest of the crew would visit during their down time but most of time it was just Chris and Mark, trying to keep each other entertained while stuck in a room far too small for both of them. 

The positive attitude that Watney seemed to maintain when he was awake did wonders for his health, as did the medicine, vitamins, daily showers and decent meals, but Mark liked to tell people it was his can-do spirit that helped him recover quicker. Even still for the most part he was bedridden, aside from the occasional trips to and from the bathroom, at least until he put on a little more weight and could sit up without wincing. That fact usually did nothing but dampen Mark’s mood, so Chris did everything in his power to keep the botanist happy.

 

***

 

Along with Chris' regular duties, he now had the required daily updates of Mark's medical status to deal with. NASA had been very clear with him that he was to write down anything pertaining to Mark's health; mental, physical, or otherwise and send it along to them for further review. It was completely unprecedented what they were dealing with and everyone was curious as to how a man could really fair after spending so long on a planet other than Earth. 

Most of the updates were easy enough, keeping a record of what Mark ate, how much medicine he was receiving, and the weight gain goals he was meeting. He made notes on his blood pressure, his pulse, his temperature, hell, NASA even wanted monthly blood samples and stool samples kept aside for further processing when they got back to Earth. 

Watney put up with it only because it seemed to prove the point of his new found celebrity status. A point he argued nearly any time it came up, and even when it didn't. "All I'm saying is that you never heard of people asking for the Kardashians poop back when they were famous." 

"Just because we didn't hear about it didn't mean it didn't happen." Beck would argue back, although he had to admit that with Watney's cooperation the tests usually ran much smoother than if he had to fight for them. 

The one thing that Beck didn't share with Watney was that he was also required to send along information about his mental well-being. For some reason it made him feel dirty every time he had to mention another nightmare, or quiet spell Watney had. It was like he was giving away everything in Mark’s mind before he had a chance to work it out for himself. The man just spent over a year is absolute isolation, they should just be happy he was doing as well as he was. 

And the truth was that most of the time Mark was all smiles and jokes. He still complained every day about the food and being stuck in bed but those were probably easier to focus on than thinking about everything else going on in his brain. 

There were times though when Watney would go quiet and his eyes would lose focus and Chris could do nothing but wait for Watney to return to him. Mark had also started to pretend he was asleep for longer when Chris knew he was actually awake. The first time he did it, Chris assumed he wanted some time to himself so he got up to leave but the instant he stood, Mark chose that time to "wake up." So now Chris would just sit there and play along with the charade that Mark was still asleep. If there was something that Mark was working out then he would give him time to process it and just hope that Mark would tell him if he needed help. 

The sleeping situation also hadn't changed much. Commander Lewis realized after the second day of having to order Beck away for food breaks that getting him to sleep somewhere else wasn't going to be an option, so instead they improvised. The bunks weren't super easy to move so the crew made a day of it and set up a make shift bed for Chris right beside Mark's. With the help of the pain medicine Mark was able to sleep through the night but he still slept better with Chris' hand in his. Neither of them mentioned it when they were awake but once they went to sleep their hands always found each other. 

Aside from that simple touch though, Mark got a little awkward about any other physical contact. Back before they made it to Mars, Mark was always very tactile, resting his arm on someone's shoulder when they were talking, or grabbing their arm when something made him laugh. Nowadays he always second guessed himself, almost reaching out before stopping himself. The one time he did pat Martinez arm he was silent for a long time beforehand, as if working himself up to it and then when he finally did the touch was unsure and uncomfortable.

 

***

 

The only person Mark didn't seem to have that problem with was Johansson. Beth didn't sleep much so she spent most of her late hours and all of her personal time with Watney and Beck. From the very first day she started visiting, she’d slide into the room and receive a “Hey nerd” greeting from Mark. She didn’t even hesitate in replying, “move over, weirdo” before climbing onto the bed to sit next to him and start discussing whatever random topic she felt appropriate. Sometimes that meant they would break down her favorite Agatha Christie novels and share their favorite parts. Other times that meant that she would tell him about some new game that was available back on Earth that she couldn't wait to play. Every once in a while, Chris would come back from a break to silence or realize after a while that they stopped talking all together, enjoying the comfort of each other without having to fill it with words. 

Chris almost got upset when she would arrive before realizing the emotion he was really feeling was jealousy. He wished things could be as easy between him and Watney as they were between Watney and Johansson. As soon as he realized that though, he also realized that was foolish given the fact Beth was helping Watney in a way that it seemed no one else could. That didn't mean he didn't still occasionally feel a sting when Mark's face lit up at the sight of Beth and he instantly scooted over to make room for her. 

Mark and Beth had always been close, since the first day she walked into their training room, her presence practically announcing she was not only the most attractive person on their mission, but also the youngest. Mark instantly noticed both these things but instead of trying to protect her or flirt with her, he started to tease her like an older brother would. To the surprise of everyone, she played along and most of the time gave as good as she got, sometimes even leaving Mark speechless with her comebacks. 

Both Beth and Mark were only children and perhaps that lead to the near immediate familial displays of affection or maybe they really were just destined to be fast friends. Whatever the case, they both ended up leaning on each other for support and entertainment during their training and even into the mission. If there was one thing Mark was grateful for when he was stranded on Mars, it was that the debris had hit him and not Beth.  

When Beck asked Johansson one night how she knew what Mark needed she just looked at him like he was an idiot. 

“Humans are pack animals, they crave contact. Even a dog that’s been abandoned for years will seek human touch if the option is available, they just don’t always know how to get it.” 

Chris considered this and in the end went with the easiest reply, “Of course you would figure this out by equating Watney to a dog.” 

Beth rolled her eyes but smiled, “No wonder you two get along so well.” 

 

**** 

 

One evening, almost a full seven days after Mark's rescue, Chris was getting Mark's nightly pain pill ready when the botanist declined. “I think I’ll go without tonight, Good Doctor. I'm actually feeling better and you said you wanted to start weaning me off of it anyway." 

“I’ve been promoted from Dr. Bossy to Good Doctor now?” Chris asked as he put the medicine away instead. He was skeptical about letting Mark go without, especially considering how he still sometimes moved around in his sleep, but he really did have to start weaning him off soon. It wouldn't do them any good to have a crew member addicted to pain pills. 

"A rose by any other name..." Mark offered with a sheepish grin making Chris laugh out loud before turning out the light and settling down to sleep. 

Just before he slipped completely under, he felt Mark reach over and grab his hand. Any other time this would have been more significant but since Chris was nearly asleep it didn't even register that that was the first time Watney had ever made the first move. 

 

Minutes or maybe hours later, Chris was awoken suddenly by the sound of gasping. He jolted out of bed instantly, scrambling to turn on the light and figure out what had gone wrong. He was halfway through wondering why an alarm wasn’t going off when he realized there was no threat to his oxygen. And if Chris was breathing fine then that meant—Watney. 

Behind him Watney was wide eyed and terrified in his bed, thrashing around as he tried to catch a breath as if his own personal oxygen tank had completely run out. Waking up faster than if he’d had caffeine injected into his bloodstream, Chris rushed to Watney's bed and tried to understand out what was happening. His lungs were expanding normally and his blood had more than enough oxygen in it. If there wasn’t a physical reason for what was happening, it had to be mental. He grabbed Mark's arm and tried to get him to calm down with the normal techniques but nothing seemed to be working, his pulse was racing far too fast for simple words of reassurance and his face was alight with nothing but unadulterated fear. 

Running out of options and not wanting Mark to hurt himself, Chris did the only thing he could think of which was to climb into Watney's bed and try to force him to calm down. He did his best not to injure the man as he sat behind him and pulled Mark backwards into his lap so that his back was against Chris' front. With Mark more easily confined inside Chris’ lap he hoped it would limit his movement and help ground him a little better. "Mark, everything is okay. You are having a panic attack, you're body is responding to some perceived threat but everything is okay. I'm here, Mark, everything is okay." 

Watney's hands grabbed at Beck's arms around his chest, squeezing and releasing, clenching and unclenching as he worked to take a single normal breath. 

"Everything is okay, Mark. You are on the Hermes. Nothing is happening. Everything is okay. Breathe, Mark." 

Instead of answering Mark shook his head back and forth against Chris' shoulder, either meaning that he didn't believe Chris or that he couldn't do what he was asking. Beck just held him tighter, fighting against the fear in Mark's brain. 

"Yes, you can. You're a goddamn hero who survived Mars, you can do this! Breathe with me, Mark. We can do this. In.....and out...." 

Taking exaggerated deep breaths in, Beck tried to coax Mark into matching him. Deep breath in, hold it, and a deep breath out. Each time Mark got even a fraction of a breath in, Chris would praise him. Telling him to keep it up, he was doing great and then continuing the process. 

Beck had no idea how long they were sitting there, Mark's hands rhythmically gripping and releasing his arms as he worked on getting deeper and deeper breaths in his lungs, all he knew was that he would have stayed there all night if that's what it took to calm Mark down. 

Eventually Mark found enough air to speak again and muttered an anguished, “Fuck." against Beck's cheek, followed by a, “Hurts.”

Assuming Watney was talking about his ribs that had been abused beyond belief in the process of calming his panic attack, Chris carefully moved out from behind Mark, moving faster than normal to get the medicine he had rejected before.

Even though he was only gone a few moments, Watney was already shaking when Chris got back. Instead of taking his usual place next to Mark's bed, he climbed right into bed with Mark, this time with both of them lying down, and scooted forward until he was flush against the other man. Once the medicine started working its way through Mark's system, he calmed down quicker, his shaking tapering off and his breathing leveling out. Chris continued to encourage him even though the worst was over, telling Mark he was proud and that everything was okay now while he rubbed the other man's arm and soothed him to sleep. 

Thankfully, Mark was able to slip into a more peaceful slumber while Chris laid awake beside him, wondering what Mark had thought of to make him panic like that and what they could possibly do to stop it from happening again. The only difference in tonight's nightly routine from any of the others was the absence of medicine and Chris could only guess that with a medically induced sleep, Mark's mind had been too sedated to have nightmares at the level his lucid mind seemed to think up. Unfortunately, drugging Mark every night wasn't really an option, and given how little Mark seemed to want to talk about what had happened to him, that didn't really seem like an option either. 

Despite all his thinking, Chris was no further into a helpful plan a few hours later than he was when he started. All he knew was that Mark was suffering way more than he was willing to tell anyone, Chris, without the proper training on this or much understanding of exactly what Mark was going through, was left helpless, and NASA was going to expect a full report of Watney's status in a few hours time. 

In other words, everything was fucked. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much angst! D:
> 
> I promise that this fic will not always be so sad, I actually just wrote a flashback scene that will show up soon which is nothing but hilarious fluff. I can't wait to post some of the more fun stuff after these boys work some stuff out. Also, I just couldn't help myself with Johansson, she's going to show up a lot more often!
> 
> Thanks for reading, as always, comments are wonderful!
> 
> Find me on tumblr at aw-space


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